Neutral self-shine emulsion for the care of floors (III)

ABSTRACT

PCT No. PCT/EP93/03487 Sec. 371 Date Jun. 21, 1995 Sec. 102(e) Date Jun. 21, 1995 PCT Filed Dec. 10, 1993 PCT Pub. No. WO94/14909 PCT Pub. Date Jul. 7, 1994An aqueous floor-care, self-shine emulsion composition having a pH of 5 to 9 containing a natural or synthetic wax and an alcohol selected from benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenoxyethanol and mixtures thereof.

This application is a 371 of PCT/EP93/03487 filed Apr. 10, 1993.

This application is a 371 of PCT/EP93/03487 filed Apr. 10, 1993.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a floor-care formulation in the form of adispersion which dries leaving a shine on the floor. Formulations suchas these are also known as self-shine emulsions.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Nowadays, new previously untreated floors and floors which have beensubjected to thorough cleaning are mainly treated with self-shineemulsions to protect them against soiling and damage. These emulsions,which contain wax and/or film-forming polymers in varying amounts, formcontinuous, glossy and soil-repellent films on the floors after drying.Films with a high percentage wax content can easily be polished and,when necessary, are also easy to remove from the surfaces whereas filmsconsisting predominantly or completely of film-forming polymers areparticularly resistant to mechanical stressing. A problem affecting allself-shine emulsions, which has not yet been completely solved, is thatthe emulsions or dispersions have to dry extremely uniformly on thesurfaces if a completely continuous protective film is to be formed. Itis very often found that the initially continuous film of the aqueousdispersion breaks up on drying and, in some cases, even contracts toform individual droplets so that the floor-care film formed is patchy inappearance. This effect is particularly noticeable in the case of thedispersions with a substantially neutral pH value which are preferredtoday. One of the problems addressed by the present invention was toprovide an improvement in this regard. Another problem addressed by theinvention was to improve the stability of the dispersions, above allduring storage at low temperatures.

Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to an aqueous self-shine emulsion for thecare of floors which, in undiluted form, has a pH value of 5 to 9 andwhich contains a natural or synthetic wax and an alcohol from the groupconsisting of benzyl alcohol, 2-phenyl ethanol, 2-phenoxy-ethanol andmixtures thereof. Self-shine emulsions with a pH value in undiluted formof 6 to 8 are particularly preferred.

The new self-shine emulsions are distinguished by high stability instorage, particularly at low temperatures. A particularly noteworthyfeature is their extremely uniform drying behavior characterized by thevirtual absence of cracks in the film, so that uniform floor-care filmsof satisfactory appearance are obtained.

Suitable waxes for the self-shine emulsions according to the inventionare both natural waxes and synthetic waxes which may be of naturalorigin or even fully synthetic. Examples are polyethylene waxes,oxidized polyethylene waxes, montan ester waxes, paraffin waxes,candellila wax and carnauba wax. Of these waxes, montan ester wax,paraffin wax, carnauba wax and polyethylene wax are preferred in theformulations according to the invention. Wax mixtures of montan esterwax and polyethylene wax and of montan ester wax and carnauba wax areparticularly preferred. The wax content in the formulations according tothe invention may be from 2 to 50% and is preferably from 2 and 15% byweight.

Unless predominantly self-emulsifying waxes are used, the emulsionsaccording to the invention contain typical wax emulsifiers in quantitiesof 0.1 to 10% by weight and preferably in quantities of 0.5 to 3% byweight. Examples of such emulsifiers are oleyl cetyl alcohol ethoxylatedwith 20 moles of ethylene oxide (EO) and sorbitan monooleate.

The second characteristic component of the self-shine emulsion accordingto the invention is an aromatic alcohol from the group consisting ofbenzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol and 2-phenoxyethanol. Mixtures of thesealcohols may of course also be used. In conjunction with the waxes inthe aqueous neutral emulsion, these alcohols appear to be responsiblefor the unexpected properties of the new formulations mentioned above.Small quantities of these alcohols are generally sufficient. Theirpercentage content in the formulations according to the invention isfrom 0.05 to 11% by weight and preferably from 1 to 5% by weight.

In addition to the waxes mentioned above, which make up the predominantpart of the solids in the formulations according to the invention, theformulations may contain film-forming polymers in dispersed form. Thepolymer component is intended to make the floor-care films moreresistant to mechanical damage. The polymer compounds present in theself-shine emulsions are those which are at least partly insoluble inwater at a neutral pH value and which have a minimum film formingtemperature in the range from about 0° to about 70° C. The polymercompounds in question are preferably polymers prepared fromethylenically unsaturated monomers. Examples of such monomers arestyrene, acrylates or methacrylates of aliphatic alcohols containing 1to 8 carbon atoms, acrylonitrile, vinyl acetate, acrylic acid andmethacrylic acid. Particularly preferred polymers arepoly(meth)acrylates of two or more of these monomers which may evencontain other monomers in small quantities. Most particularly preferredpolymers contain 1 to 30 parts by weight of monomers containingcarboxylic acid groups, 30 to 70 parts by weight of monomers which formhomopolymers with glass temperatures below 20° C., preferably esters ofacrylic acid with C₁₋₈ alcohols and/or methacrylic acid with C₄₋₈alcohols, and 30 to 70 parts by weight of monomers which formhomopolymers having glass temperatures above room temperature,preferably methacrylates of C₁₋₃ alcohols or styrene. Where severaldifferent polymer compounds of the type mentioned above are used in theform of a mixture, the film forming temperature determined for themixture should be in the range from 0° to 0° C. The film formingtemperatures mentioned apply to the plasticizer-free system, i.e. to thepolymers with no further additives.

The polymers may be present in the formulations according to theinvention in quantities of up to 30% by weight and, more particularly,in quantities of 1 to 20% by weight. These figures apply to the purepolymers. If the suspensions according to the invention are producedfrom dispersed polymers of the type often available on the market, thedispersions in question have to be used in correspondingly largerquantities in the production of the formulations according to theinvention.

In addition to the ingredients mentioned above, the self-shine emulsionsaccording to the invention may contain other active substances andauxiliaries in relatively small quantities, including for exampleplasticizers, wetting agents and flow control agents, wetting resins,preservatives and perfume oils.

Plasticizers are intended to modify the consistency of the film, adistinction being drawn between temporary plasticizers and permanentplasticizers. Temporary plasticizers are volatile hydrophilic solventswhich promote the coalescence of the polymer particles during filmformation. Examples are ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and alsoglycol and polyglycol ethers. Their percentage content in theformulations according to the invention is generally not more than 15%by weight and is preferably between 0.5 and 10% by weight. Permanentplasticizers are liquids which are not volatile under normal conditionsso that the character of the floor-care film can be lastingly influencedwith their assistance. Examples of such plasticizers are dibutylphthalate, tributyl phosphate, tributoxyethyl phosphate and N-methylcaprolactam. Permanent plasticizers also are generally present in thesuspensions according to the invention in quantities of not more than15% by weight and preferably in a quantity of 0.5 to 10% by weight.

Wetting agents and flow control agents are intended to improve thewetting of the treated surface during application of the self-shineemulsion. In addition, they make the emulsion easier to dilute withwater, for example for application to wet floors. Suitable wetting andflow control agents are any of the usual surfactants, more particularlynonionic and anionic surfactants, for example ethoxylates of long-chainalcohols or alkyl benzene sulfonates and fatty alcohol sulfates.Fluorine surfactants are also used in many cases and produce aparticularly marked reduction in surface tension. The content of wettingand flow control agents is generally not more than 5% by weight, basedon the total weight of the self-shine emulsion, and is preferablybetween 0.1 and 2% by weight. Surface wetting during application canalso be improved with wetting resins. Wetting resins are preferablystyrene/maleate resins or clear polyacrylates. Their content in theformulations is generally not more than 5% by weight and is preferablyfrom 0.1 to 2% by weight.

The formulations may be prepared by standard suspending processes. Forexample, they may be prepared by the water-in-wax method or by thewax-in-water method. If necessary, the pH of the formulation is adjustedto the required value in the neutral range (pH 5 to pH 9) by addition ofalkalis.

The self-shine emulsions according to the invention are generallyapplied in undiluted form. The emulsions are applied to the surface anduniformly distributed thereon in the required quantity using a softobject, for example a sponge or a cloth. After evaporation of the water,an extremely uniform, glossy film is left on the surface in thisfloor-care process.

EXAMPLES

A wax-in-water dispersion was first prepared from the waxes andemulsifiers listed in the Table and was then mixed with the othercomponents to form the final formulations. Unless otherwise indicated,the figures in the Tables are percentages by weight, based on the pureactive substances. Self-shine emulsions 1 to 4 thus prepared were thentested for their stability during storage at low temperatures and fortheir flow control properties.

To evaluate stability at low temperatures, the samples were stored for12 weeks at 0° to 3° C. Over this period, the samples were removedweekly from the freezer and visually evaluated on reaching roomtemperature. Visible signs of instability were flocculation, sediment,deposits and changes in viscosity. Evaluation was based on the followingscale:

0 uniform, homogeneous sample

1 slight deposits or sediment after 12 weeks

2 slight deposits or sediment after 3 weeks

3 medium deposits or sediment after 3 weeks

4 heavy deposits or sediment after 3 weeks

5 very heavy deposits or sediment after 3 weeks

The flow control properties were determined by application to blackuntreated PVC sheets under conditions which meet practical requirements.To this end, 10 ml of the suspension to be tested were uniformly appliedby hand applicator to a 30×60 cm PVC tile in each test. The applicatorconsisted of an upholstery velvet stretched over a frame with aneffective surface area of 20×5.5 cm. After drying, the appearance of thesurface was visually evaluated on the following scale:

0 streak-free

1 faintly visible uniform streaks

2 distinctly visible streaks

3 distinct, uneven streaks

4 heavy uneven residues.

                  TABLE 1    ______________________________________    Example          1       2       3     4    ______________________________________    Isothiazoline    0.02    --      --    --    Montan wax, dropping point                     3.5     3.5     3.5   3.5    82° C.    Ester wax, solidification                     3.5     3.5     3.5   3.5    point 85° C.    Oleyl cetyl alcohol + 23 EO                     0.5     0.5     0.5   0.5    Isotridecyl alcohol + 8 EO                     1.0     1.0     1.0   1.0    Styrene acrylate MFT 45° C.*                     4.5     4.5     4.5   4.5    Zonyl FSJ (fluorine surfactant)                     0.02    0.02    0.02  0.02    Diethyl ethanolamine                     0.3     0.3     0.3   0.3    Perfume          0.2     0.2     0.2   0.2    2-Phenoxyethanol --      2.0     --    --    2-Phenylethanol  --      --      1.0   --    Benzyl alcohol   --      --      --    1.0    Water            ad 100  ad 100  ad 100                                           ad 100    pH value         8.4     8.4     8.4   8.4    Stability in storage at <0° C.                     3       0       0     0    Flow control properties                     4       0       0     0    ______________________________________     *MFT = minimum film forming temperature

The test results clearly reflect the advantageous properties ofself-shine emulsions 2-4 according to the invention in relation tocomparison formulations 1.

We claim:
 1. An aqueous, floor care, self-shine emulsion composition having a pH of 5 to 9, said composition comprising from 2 to 50% by weight of a natural or synthetic wax selected from the group consisting of montan ester wax, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, and mixtures thereof, and from 1% to 5% by weight of an alcohol selected from the group consisting of benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenoxyethanol and mixtures thereof.
 2. A composition as in claim 1 having a pH of 6 to
 8. 3. A composition as in claim 1 further containing from 1% to 20% by weight of an at least partly water-insoluble polymer having a minimum film forming temperature of 0° C. to 70° C., based on the weight of said composition.
 4. The process of providing a shine to a floor comprising applying to said floor an undiluted aqueous self-shine emulsion composition having a pH of 5 to 9, said composition comprising from 2% to 50% by weight of a natural or synthetic wax selected from the group consisting of montan ester wax, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, and mixtures thereof, and from 1% to 5% by weight of an alcohol selected from the group consisting of benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenoxyethanol and mixtures thereof, and allowing said composition to dry.
 5. A process as in claim 4 wherein said composition has a pH of 6 to
 8. 6. A process as in claim 4 wherein said composition further contains from 1% to 20% by weight of an at least partly water-soluble polymer having a minimum film forming temperature of 0° C. to 70° C., based on the weight of said composition. 